Lovin' los libros

My Ex From Hell (The Blooming Goddess Trilogy #1)
   by: Tellulah Darling

Publication Date: April 1, 2013
Publisher: Te Da Media
Genre: Mythology/Fantasy
Age Group: Young Adult
Source: e-ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review
Page Count: 272 pages
Order Links: Amazon | B&N
My Rating: 4/5 stars

                                                        -goodreads.com description

I have to give it to Ms. Darling. When I first started reading this book, I almost felt like I was on speed. The writing style was so quirky and fun and Sophie's inner dialogue was hilarious. It read so fast that I found my brain trying to keep up with the quick wit and humor. I absolutely loved all the pop culture references and I found myself laughing out loud more times than I can count!

Favorite Quote:

"Come on!" I protested. "There've got to be some perks to this stupid destiny."
"We should set some ground rules," Hannah decided. "A code of conduct. Like Dexter has."
"I'm a goddess, not a serial killer. I have no codes."

Sophie Bloom is just an ordinary run of the mill geeky teenager who attends a boarding school, with her friends Hannah and Theo, and has to deal with everyday teenage drama- like Bethany, the resident bitchy popular girl. I loved Sophie. Like I said before, she is quirky, sarcastic, and has such a fun voice throughout the book. The book begins with her exacting revenge on Bethany the night of the Halloween dance. She knows Bethany is planning to meet a guy outside at midnight, so Sophie concocts a plan to be the one meeting him instead dressed as Bethany, so she can ruin any chance of the two being together.

However, things don't go quite as she plans.

"How to put this without sounding stupid? Aw, screw it. There is no way. His voice made me tingle and shiver and warmed me in places that definitely should not have been warm at that moment. Think of every bad romance cliché and you're getting close. Kai's voice was dark and lazy and slightly foreign and... whoa baby, I'm getting weak just thinking about it."

Her cover ends up getting blown, yet for some reason he still ends up kissing her. And what a kiss. The kiss between them launched a whole set of events into motion and now Sophie must come to terms with the fact that she is really Persephone, yes the Greek goddess, Persephone. With the help of her friends, Sophie is now thrown into a world she doesn't quite understand as she has no memories from before- all she knows is that Kai, Prince of the Underworld, is the new transfer student who goes from ignoring her one minute to kissing her the next. Boys. She also has the slight issue of both Zeus and Hades sending lesser demons after her. Lucky for her, she is able to call on her powers to help her out in times of trouble. And she seems to be finding a good amount of it lately.

I loved Theo and Hannah's characters. Theo is protective of Sophie and while I won't spoil who he really is, ends up playing a significant role in helping her figure everything out. Hannah, on the other hand, is just a mortal, but besides being super smart, is incredibly beautiful. I love her and Sophie's back and forth banter. In fact, their bantering and the dialogue Darling uses is what really made this book awesome for me.

"You dirty little Hobbit!" Hannah exclaimed. "You smooched your cousin."
I shuddered. "My cousin?" I thought I might throw up.
Theo had the good grace to look sheepish. "Human standards of familial taboos don't apply to the gods. Even so, first cousins can legally marry."
"In the backwoods of Alabama," I groaned. "Just give me a banjo and teach me the 'Deliverance' theme now." I slapped my knee. "Yee haw!"

Oh, Kai. You bad boy, you. He definitely is hard to figure out. Kai and Persephone were lovers and had big plans to overthrow Hades and Zeus. However, Persephone's attempted murder put a damper on those plans. Now that Persephone is technically Sophie and Sophie is technically Persephone, Kai is torn between his love for the goddess and having to deal with the girl that is Sophie. He seems to always be there to help her when she gets in trouble, calling her a walking suicide mission. Yet, if you've ever learned anything from mythology it's this: never trust a god. Their allegiances can be swayed like a flower in the wind and you never know what you're going to get. I wanted to trust Kai because I found it quite sexy, him just kissing her, when they clearly dislike one another.

Overall, if you're in the mood for a good laugh, need a good snarky, witty main character, a bad boy love interest from Hell (literally!), and an action packed plot- you need to check this one out.